God speaks to people in different ways. If you’ve learned how to recognize his voice you’ve probably experienced different ways in which he has communicated. Some examples would be dreams, pictures, sensations, through songs, a word of knowledge (when you just know something), a small voice in your heart, a feeling, etc. I don’t have a deep understanding of how he speaks to everyone, but I know that he speaks to each person individually in a way they best understand. I’m a literary person. I enjoy a well put together, evocative sentence. So, I’ve noticed the majority of times in my life where I’ve received revelation, I was either reading or writing. That’s not to say he hasn’t spoken to me in different ways, but that would definitely be one of the main ways. The summer of 2004, the Lord taught me something that I never forgot and that I’ve used ever since. I wanted to share it in case it helps others too.

I didn’t know it had a name when the Lord first showed me, but I guess it’s called prophetic journaling. I’ll take you back to the moment he showed me. I was in my 20’s making somewhat poor decisions when it came to dating and I had a lot of rejection issues which caused a constant ache in my heart. I didn’t have “the peace that passes understanding” that Christians claimed was mine. One morning I was sitting on my apartment balcony feeling frustrated and hurt. I was asking God to speak to me when all of the sudden I had the strongest urge to pick up my journal and start writing whatever came to mind. I just knew at that moment the Lord was prompting me and wanted to speak. I grabbed my journal and wrote as quickly as the words poured out.

As soon as I wrote each sentence another one would come. He was saying the things I thought that I believed, but deep down, I truly didn’t. He was saying things like he loved me. He wanted to heal my heart and take care of it, but I needed to trust him. And while I was feverishly writing what I felt I heard, another part of my brain was busy being skeptical, “Great, I’m making up God’s voice. How in the world do I know this is him? I guess I might as well be delusional on top of moody.” Then I had a grand idea. While still writing (it sounds like I was writing a lot, but this mental process was a few seconds long) I thought, “God, if this is you speaking to me, you keep mentioning my heart. Give me the name of a physical part of the human heart.” I didn’t know any technical names for parts of the human heart, and I was too busy writing to even try to remember or make one up. It would have to be him that answered. It was my test, my golden fleece, and he was gracious enough to answer. I distinctly saw the word ventricle spelled out in my mind. It was as if God paused what he was having me write in my journal, gave me that word, then kept speaking as if to say, can we please move on? So, I quickly wrote the word in parenthesis with a question mark and then finished writing what, either the God of the universe was speaking, or what I was making up like a crazy person.

Before the world of “Okay Google” you had to actually have a dictionary to look up words and I picked mine up with trembling fingers. I’m pretty sure I whispered, “God, if ventricle isn’t a word, I’m going to be so pissed.” But there it was, that beautiful word: Ventricle-(ven’tri-kel) n. A small cavity or hollow organ of the body, esp, a chamber of the heart.

My eyes filled with tears. The God that made molecules and mountains just took time to tell me I matter. That has to count for something! That counts for a lot.

Since that day there have been several times when I have felt that same urgent feeling to pick up a pen and start writing what he was saying. Sometimes he speaks to me personally and sometimes it’s a letter meant to be given to another person, but always the tone is love. This may be a way he wants to speak with you. It may be a way to grow closer to him and experience a deeper level of friendship. Just getting quiet and picking up a pen and asking God, “What do you want to say to me?” can lead to some great stuff. Just write what flows to your mind. I would say two rules to help keep you safe are: God won’t say things against His written word in the Bible and God’s voice is loving and gentle, not condemning. Even when he is correcting you, it will be out of love. Another great exercise is asking him to reveal any lies you may be believing about yourself which I go into detail about in Who you are in Christ: How to replace lies with truth. As an example, below are the words he spoke to me back in the summer of 2004:

Know my child, you are my beloved and I have loved you before the foundation of the earth. You are such a tender heart and I have placed that within you to be your strength, for you will minister to my people like no one else can. Surely you will follow me for the rest of your days. Know that I have plans for you and I have your heart in my hand. I will not bruise it – give it fully to me so I may patch it up (ventricle?) I Am a God who knows your heart and knows each need. I have promised in my word I will supply. So trust me as you would a loving father, that is what I Am. Rely on me. Give your heart to me. And I will surely take care of it for the rest of your days. I love you daughter.

Short, to the point, and full of love. It was exactly what I needed at that time. He speaks life and truth into rejection and lies. I’m so very thankful and honored to come to know a God like that!

If reading and writing isn’t the way he generally speaks to you and prophetic journaling isn’t your thing, that’s ok! But always seek him and ask him to reveal the way he chooses to speak to you personally. Always seek. For he is a God who honors that, and He wants to be found (Jeremiah 29:13).

How-to summary:

• Go to a quiet place with a pen and journal and ask the Lord to speak to you. It often helps to ask a specific question like: what lies am I believing about myself?
• Turn off your editing brain and just write what you hear without worrying about punctuation/grammar, etc.
• Keep in mind that the voice of God is loving and will not berate you even when speaking correction. It will not ask you to do something immoral or contradict The Bible. The spirit of God brings freedom, grace and truth.